With stocks on the Dow down 5.7 percent for the new year and with analysts voicing jitters about Wall Street and the prospects for the broader U.S. economy, where could a Denver investor find a market that looks pretty favorable right now? How about our own apartment market right here in the Mile High City, asks builder-developer Darell Schmidt.

Schmidt, whose Greenwood Village-based Allanté Properties has a mixed-use apartment-retail project underway six blocks from restaurant row at W. 32nd and Lowell in Highlands, says Denver’s own apartment market is an upbeat contrast to the prospects for stocks now: Vacancy rates metro-wide were running below 4 percent at year-end, and rents are up an astonishing 7 percent – tied for first-place nationally with Silicon Valley’s San Jose, Calif.

Analysts see that market remaining strong into the coming year, in spite of a large crop of new apartments coming on line, both around downtown and in the Tech Center and U.S. 36 corridors. The driver, Schmidt says, is huge demand from Millennial generation renters, who like the direction of Denver’s improving employment market, and crave rental apartments near downtown Denver where the lifestyle features trendy restaurants and boutiques that are within easy walking distance.

That demand for that lifestyle shows no sign of deteriorating anytime soon, Schmidt says – adding that his own project in Highlands is near the epicenter for those kinds of walkable attractions. “We pick sites for apartment development that are close to shops, restaurants and offices with public transportation nearby,” he adds. A new generation of renters, he notes, are much less inclined than their parents to buy their homes, adding even more stability to new apartment prospects.

Allanté Properties’ Highland Place, near Highland Square, is a 3-story project under construction at W. 38th and Julian Street across from a newly opened Panera Bread, offering 11,000 square feet of main-level retail with 68 class-A apartments overhead. In a hot part of town where parking is hard to find, both sides offer parking – above ground for the retail, dedicated below-ground for the apartments.

Meanwhile, Allanté has created investor positions from $100,000 alongside its primary lender, for investors who like the looks of the returns on Highland Place, at a time when demand is peaking for stabilized apartment assets. Contractor GH Phipps is expected to complete construction on Highland Place this coming November; and Schmidt can provide new investors with a personal tour of the site. For a full prospectus, call Darell Schmidt at 303-359-1210 or email Darell@AllanteProperties.com.

Mark Samuelson writes on real estate and business; you can email him at mark@samuelsonassoc.com.You can see all of Mark Samuelson’s columns at DenverPost.com/RealEstate. Follow Mark Samuelson on Twitter: @marksamuelson

Mark Samuelson has written about housing, business and real estate for The Denver Post for more than 25 years. He is president of Samuelson and Associates, a communications company that specializes in builder marketing, real estate, and energy technologies.